In the face of fire
by MillieW
Summary: Tired of the world, Harry and Ginny decides to hide from it for a few hours. Written before HBP.


In the face of fire. 

The room of requirements looked very different from how Harry normally saw it. There were no bookcases with Defence against Dark Arts books, or instruments to detect danger, even the desk and the cushions on the floor was gone. Instead the room was dominated by a huge window facing the door and a big fireplace on the left hand wall. Facing the fireplace was a sofa, two chairs very much like the ones in Gryffindor common room and a small coffee table and right in front of the fire lay a large bearskin hearthrug. It was on the rug that Harry and Ginny was now resting; hiding from the world and all the people in it.

Harry looked down at Ginny. With her long red hair and bright brown eyes, she was without doubt the prettiest girl he could think of. The gentle light of the fire reflected in her eyes and skin and Harry couldn't help but to lean down over her and kiss her gently. He could feel the softness of her lips as they moved beneath his; opening slightly to let in his tongue to meet hers in a gentle embrace. Harry felt his heart making a little leap as Ginny let out a sigh of content. He loved everything about her – her looks, the way she smelled, the taste of her kisses and the way she made him laugh for no reason at all. In his mind there could be nothing better in life than being right here right now with Ginny by your side.

Slowly Harry let his hand trace the outline of her face, her neck, her shoulder and arm to her hand and delicate fingers. Their hands locked in embrace for a while, then Ginny's hand let go of his and she traced his arm up to the back of his head pulling him closer to her running her fingers through his hair. Urged forward by her hand and fingers, Harry allowed his hand to discover the slenderness of her waistline as he pulled her body closer to his, causing her to let out a soft, trusting sound. Never had Harry felt anything quite like this. He had kissed her before naturally, they had after all been dating for the last six months, but he had never held or touched her like this. Never been so completely alone with her in a situation like this without the risk of someone walking in on them. But here he was, with Ginny, without disruptions, with all the time in the world, and she was his – only and completely his. He felt her hands moving, caressing him, then the heat in his stomach. He let out a moan as he broke free from the kiss.

Ginny looked up at him, smiling, but also a bit puzzled.

"Why stop?" she asked in a low voice when Harry made no new effort to kiss her. He caressed her gently; let his fingers slowly run through her hair as he thought about the question and how to answer it. He knew very well why he had broken free from their embrace. What he didn't know was how to explain it to Ginny without making her think that he was an insensitive prat. He wanted to tell her how scared he was, and how thrilled he was and how everything suddenly made sense when she was there and how he stopped now because he wasn't sure that he could stop at all if they went on…

"I'm…I just love you, that's all," he finally said.

"Oh…You know I love you too, right?" Ginny answered with a smile on her lips. Harry smiled back, how could he not when her smile made him feel as if he could take on the entire world as long as she was in it. He leaned down and kissed her softly, again feeling his blood rush.

"I know," he then whispered so low that she wouldn't even have heard it had his mouth not been so close to her ear. He held her tight in his arm for a long time, trying to cool himself down but only managing to make the heat in his stomach spread to every other part of his body. He could feel Ginny's breath on his neck, then her lips gently pressing against his skin. Slowly she kissed her way from his neck to his mouth, unknowingly luring him in to what he was trying to avoid, making him painfully aware of every nerve in his body. He felt the sweet scent coming from her, tasted her lips and tongue as he was pulled into the embrace. Once again he let his hands explore their way from her face down her neck and back to her waist and…

Harry stopped short and once again broke free from Ginny, but this time completely as he sat up on the rug.

"Harry…" he could feel Ginny's arm on his shoulder as she too sat up. "What's wrong? And don't tell me it's nothing, I know you to well for that. Harry swallowed. He knew that there was no getting around this, although he couldn't help but to wish that there was. He turned his head and looked at her. She looked worried. He raised his hand and gently touched her cheek with the back of his fingers.

"No Ginny nothing's wrong, not really, it's just…" Harry broke of; he didn't know how to go on. His heart was hammering in his chest and he could hardly breathe as he looked at Ginny. He turned away from her, not being able to bear to look at her anymore.

"Just what, Harry?" Her voice was still soft – soft and gentle – like her. He tried to look up at her, but failed, his face was burning now.

"I…" his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and began again "I can't go on because if we do I don't think I'm going to be able to stop." The silence in the room was complete. Neither one of them talked and Harry didn't even dare to breathe. He was terrified of looking at Ginny, terrified that she might be angry with him.

"Oh," she then said. Her voice didn't sound like it usually did, more like a low whisper. Without raising his head, Harry glanced at her. She didn't seem angry, instead her face had turned just as red as his felt. Ginny looked up at him. She gave him a slight smile, tried to speak and failed, she took a deep breath and tried again:

"Maybe that…wouldn't be such a horrible thing to happen" Ginny's voice was so faint that it was almost impossible to hear her. Harry stared at her in disbelief, he thought for sure that he had heard wrong, that it was his own wishes that made his mind play tricks on him. Ginny's face was absolutely beaming red, and it wasn't the first time Harry thought of the setting sun when he saw her blush. She didn't look at him, instead she had closed her eyes when she spoke and was now keeping them firmly closed.

A surge of pure bliss streamed through every vein in Harry's body, followed immediately by a feeling of fear, leaving him bewildered and confused. Not knowing what to say or do in a situation like this, but knowing he had to do something; Harry did the only thing he could think of, looked to Ginny for support. Since Ginny still didn't look at him, he reached out and took her hand in his. Slowly she opened her eyes and glanced at him, still blushing. Harry tried to smile reassuringly at her, but his heart was now pounding so hard in his chest that he almost thought it would break out through his ribs, and he wasn't sure that his smile was reassuring at all. Ginny however smiled back before she leaned in to kiss him.

The feeling when her lips touched Harry's was more powerful than any he felt in his entire life. To kiss her now, after the conversation they just had, in the situation they now were in, knowing that he wouldn't have to think of stopping when his body rushed him further, made him feel both hilariously happy and absolutely terrified at the same time.

Gradually they started to find their way again, letting their hands explore each other with more freedom than before. Ginny slipped her hands around Harry's neck, once again running her fingers through his hair, slowly leaning backwards until she with Harry's help was anew lying on the hearthrug with the weight of Harry's chest pressing her down. Almost too afraid to move, Harry still managed to let his hand stroke the side of her body, once more feeling the contour of her body at the tip of his fingers. Ginny's hand found its way from his neck by his shoulder and down to his chest, where suddenly she used it to push him away from her.

Harry looked down at her when he was struck with a horrible thought. _"What if she had changed her mind? What if she didn't like what he was doing? After all what did he know? He never done anything remotely like this before, maybe he was getting it all wrong."_

"Harry," she said lightly, then she bit her lower lip, as if unsure whether or not to continue. Then she decided to anyway and tentatively went on. "I…" she blushed, took a deep breath and tried again. "I don't know, I mean I…I never well…ohm, you know…" Harry who had been holding his breath suddenly realised that Ginny was just as afraid and confused as he was and in his own relief he almost started to laugh.

"And you think I have? What, because of the _huge_ experience of girls I have, or what?" Ginny couldn't help but to laugh slightly and looked almost as relieved as Harry felt.

"Look Ginny, I…I don't know…I…" Harry stumbled, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted. "Oh what the hell, I haven't got a clue of what I'm doing, I'm scared out of my wits here…" he finally exclaimed, tired of trying to pretend that he knew more about what they were about to do than he did.

"_You're_ scared? Of this? After facing You-know-who like a million times, you're scared of this. And here I thought I was the only one that got scared." Ginny said surprised.

"Of course I'm scared. I don't want to.… to hurt you or anything…" he said a bit ashamed, but still glad to get his confusion and fears of his chest. He looked at Ginny a bit hesitantly, but she didn't seem to be upset – rather relieved. She smiled gently at him and leaned in for a kiss.

They didn't speak after that. Somehow most of Harry's insecurity was gone after they talked about it. He kissed not only Ginny's mouth but also let his lips and tongue trace their way along her jaw line down to where her neck met her shoulder. At the same time he finally let his fingers mover higher than her waist to touch and explore what they had so long wished for, feeling as though he floated on air when he heard Ginny moan slightly at his touch. Steadily Harry could feel how Ginny ran her hand down his back, how she hesitated slightly before going further down and how he was lost in shivers when she finally did. Harry groaned slightly as his lips once more found Ginny's and their mouths once more locked in embrace.

Carefully and somewhat clumsily they started to undress one another. First their school robes, then their ties, then… Harry fumbled as he turned his attention to the buttons on Ginny's shirt, letting go of her mouth with his own for a moment to be able to see what he was doing. He looked at her lying there in front of him for a long time, watching everything that he loved so much. The way her hair spilled out onto the rug or how the light of the fire reflected in her eyes.

Gently Harry opened her shirt and took a deep breath as the beauty of her body threatened to overwhelm him. Ginny looked up at him and gave him a nervous smile and he bent down over her and kissed her gently, removing his own shirt at the same time. They stayed that way for a long time, exploring each others bodies and enjoying the new experiences that came with touching each other in this way.

Shivers ran through Harry's body as Ginny's hand investigated his body. Even after the pressure of her hand was gone he could feel the warmth of where she touched him. The sensation of touching and being touched filled every part of his body until he was nothing but nerves and feelings and shivers. Not being able to wait for another minute, he reached down to unbutton Ginny's jeans.

He broke free of their kiss in order to take them of and although the need to kiss her again was so strong it almost became painful, the beauty of her lying stretched out on the hearthrug in front of him almost completely undressed made it impossible for him to move. Instead he just let his fingers slowly trace their way from her feet along the length of her entire body to her face and mouth where Ginny, gently smiling kissed them one by one. She then took his hand in hers and sat up next to him, leaning forward to kiss him. They delved into the kiss with all their feelings and will, and Harry hardly noticed when Ginny's hands found their way down to unbutton his pants. When they reached their mark however the feeling was so overwhelming that he couldn't help to moan aloud.

After Harry's jeans where off it was Ginny's turn to let her fingers trace along his body, stopping on his chest to play with the hair that she had not expected to grow there. Harry forced himself to sit still for a long time, relishing in the tingling sensations that Ginny's touch originated. Finally he couldn't hold back another minute, but bent down and kissed her, pulling her closer to him in order to feel the wonderful feeling of their bodies fitting together perfectly. Carefully Harry started to lie Ginny back down on the rug, feeling her long slim legs slip around his body as he laid down on top of her, being careful to rest his body on his elbows so not to crush her with his weight.

Being so entangled, with her legs rapped around his body and her entire body beneath him shivering with pleasure, Harry felt as happy and content as he had ever done in his life. Every touch, every movement seemed to give him a new sensation he hadn't felt before and his heart sang with every sigh that came from Ginny's lips.

Pulling Ginny up a little, so that she was resting on her elbows Harry clumsily tried to unhook her bra. After a few unsuccessful tries, Ginny smiled and pushed him further up, so that she herself could help him. Harry found himself being forced to swallow hard when he looked at her. He was glad that Ginny didn't speak to him, because he was quite sure that he wouldn't be able to talk right now if his life depended on it. She however just continued to smile at him and settled back down on the rug, pulling him back down on top of her.

Harry once again kissed her jaw and neck, but this time he couldn't help but to move down further to what had just been revealed to him for the first time. At the touch of his lips and tongue Ginny gasped and arched her back slightly in response. Happy to realise that he was doing something right, Harry gave in completely to the temptation of her breasts, exploring them minutely with his mouth and hands, being careful not to miss any part of them. Slightly moaning and breathing heavily Ginny dug her fingers in Harry's shoulders and moved her body beneath his, making chills run along his spine making the sensations Harry felt even stronger and giving him an acute awareness of every part of his body.

Slowly Harry began kissing his way from Ginny's breasts down to her slim waist, spending just a little extra time on her bellybutton before moving further down. Slowly he ran his fingers along the outside of her thigh up to her hip. Equally slowly he began removing Ginny's underwear, tracing the inside of her leg with his lips and tongue as he moved back down on top of her. Not being able to stand another second of the sweet torture of Harry's kisses, Ginny grabbed his head and pulled him up to her lips where their tongues met in a passionate embrace.

With her hands and feet Ginny began to pull down Harry's boxers and with his help they were soon lying on the floor next to the rest of their clothing. With all the inexperience he possessed Harry desperately tried to be careful as Ginny pulled him closer on top of her, helping him find his way. His heart was rushing him on, pushing him further as he delved into emotions and feelings stronger than anything he ever felt before. Ginny groaned slightly with pain as he ventured further and for a moment she held him tight, making sure he didn't move at all. Worried that he did something wrong, Harry looked at her for a clue to what to do next, only to see her look back at him with complete love and trust. He bent down and kissed her lips gently and felt her grip loosen and her hands urging him on ever so slowly.

"Are you ok?" He whispered hoarsely into her ear. He felt her nod a response and then heard her murmur softly into his:

"I will be…as long as you don't let me go…or stop…"

"I will never let you go, Ginny." Harry whispered sincerely back before raising his head to look at her again, thinking that if he could stay here like this for the rest of his life then he would be the happiest person alive. Ginny had tears in her eyes, but not of pain or sorrow, but of happiness and Harry bent down to gently kiss her eyes before letting him lips move down to hers. Locked in the embrace Ginny started to breathe faster and she used her hands and feet to urge Harry to move faster, deeper.

"Shouldn't I be more careful?" Harry asked nervously, worried that he might be hurting her. But Ginny just shook her head slightly and let out a moaning sound Harry interpreted as a no. Happy not to be holding back anymore, Harry forgot the world around him. There was just him and Ginny and the full experience of what they now shared – something far more powerful and wonderful than magic could ever be.

Harry wasn't aware of how long it lasted and he didn't see how the fire died down to embers or how the twilight turned into night in the window behind them. All he knew was Ginny, and the sheer bliss he felt. Afterwards he rested his head heavily on her shoulder, holding her tight, drawing circles on the soft skin on her stomach. Ginny slowly ran her fingers through his hair, absentmindedly watching the dying of the fire, feeling the comfortable heaviness that comes with sleepiness. It wasn't until she let her fingers run down to his arm that she felt how cold he was, and then how cold the room had become without the warmth of the fire. She suddenly wondered how long they had been there, and how late it was. Out of thin air a clock showed up in the room. Harry raised his head slightly in surprise before turning his head to Ginny. She too looked a little surprised, but then it dawned on her and she smiled at Harry.

"I guess I thought we needed to know what time it was," she then said. "I forgot that you always get what you need in this room." She then added with another smile.

"What you need being the magic words," grinned Harry, and by the look on his face Ginny could tell that he wasn't talking about the clock. "Although I have to admit I thought it had limitations to things before tonight." He then added with a snigger.

"You're absolutely horrible," Ginny said with pretended indignation, as if she had not wanted this just as much as he had, then she broke into a big smile and swooped down on him and kissed him. "On a more serious note," she then continued, "I do think we ought to consider making our way back to Gryffindor tower. People will wonder if we don't get back soon."

"Sorry to make you disappointed, but if you look at the clock you will see that we are already so late that they would have begun to wonder either way." Harry said with a nod of his head towards the clock. Ginny looked at it in surprise, not noticing until now that it was close to eleven at night. "I'll think you'll see that there's a bigger risk in heading back to the tower in the of the night with Filch patrolling the hallways then to just stay here and make up an excuse till tomorrow." Harry then added.

"But everyone will know that we didn't sleep in our beds!" Ginny exclaimed in terror, "They will know exactly what we did, and…"

"Not if we come up with a good enough excuse," Harry interrupted her. "Besides we don't have the invisibility cloak here, so heading out into the corridors now would be taking an awfully big risk." Ginny looked at him, and even though she didn't want to she had to realise that Harry was right. She sighed and smiled faintly, before addressing the next problem.

"But where are we going to sleep? I mean the rug may be comfortable enough for…" she stopped herself, blushed and bit her lip and Harry couldn't help but to think how sweet it was that she would still blush in front of him even after what they had just shared. He reached out his hand and caressed her cheek, smiling before he leaned in and kissed her gently.

"You're forgetting that we are in the Room of Requirements, Ginny." He then said quietly, and seconds after the sofa behind them turned into a big four poster bed. Ginny looked from the bed to Harry then back to the bed.

"You really do think of everything, don't you?" she then said with a smile.

"Not everything, but I do have my moments." Harry replicated with a grin as he stood up and gave her a hand in standing up.

"Well then you might find a way for us to be woken really, really early tomorrow, so that we can head back to Gryffindor tower before anyone else wake up." Ginny then added, but before she had finished the sentence an alarm clock appeared on what had been the coffee table but now were the nightstand. Harry smiled and crawled down beneath the covers in the huge bed, pulling Ginny close to him the moment she was done setting the alarm.

Settling in next to Harry, buried beneath the covers with her head rested comfortably on his arm, Ginny once again started to feel her body getting heavier as sleep came closer. Just before she closed her eyes she mastered one more thought.

"What are we going to say tomorrow?" she asked with a yawn.

"How about falling asleep in the library doing revisions?" Harry yawned back too happy to care if everyone in the world figured out what they had been doing. Ginny frowned at the lame excuse but still nodded slowly in agreement. She didn't seem to have the energy to speak or think right now and a better excuse would have to wait for tomorrow. Moments later they were both deeply asleep, Harry with a huge smile on his face and dreams that for once wasn't filled with images of Voldemort or Sirius.


End file.
